[Onthebarricades] Pro-democracy, corruption and rights protests, Eastern Europe, Apr-Aug 2008

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/

RUSSIA
*  Emo fans protest schools ban, conformism
*  Police confront pro-democracy protest in Moscow
*  Human rights protest at Red Square

BELARUS
*  Opposition mark Chernobyl anniversary
*  Police attack opposition protest over mass detentions
*  Media restrictions protested

ARMENIA
*  Opposition protest for removal of president

AZERBAIJAN
*  Opposition protests ban on rallies in Baku

GEORGIA
*  Protests over poll result, irregularities alleged

BULGARIA
*  Politician seeks to defuse police repression after football protests
*  CSKA fans protest in Bulgaria and America
*  Opposition demands early polls

SERBIA
*  Journalists call for symbolic protest
*  Opposition parties organise ongoing protests over city assembly session

MACEDONIA
*  Thousands protest attack on Albanian leader

BOSNIA
*  Sarajevo residents protest in show of scrutiny
*  Sarajevo protest for removal of mayor
*  Protests over police brutality at football protest
*  Unrest over sacking of football coach

LATVIA
*  Protests as corruption "crusader" sacked

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080719185831.2doydzx8&show_article=1

Siberian emo fans protest planned ban: report

Jul 19 02:58 PM US/Eastern

Dozens of black-clad emo music fans protested Saturday in the Siberian city 
of Krasnoyarsk against plans by Russian lawmakers to ban their style from 
the country's schools, REN TV television reported.
The protesters, many of them with piercings, streaks of dyed hair and studs, 
held up placards reading: "Kill the State in Yourself," "Why Do We Have To 
Think The Same?" and "A Totalitarian State Encourages Stupidity."
"How can you stop people from expressing themselves, from dressing how they 
like, from living a way of life that doesn't harm anyone?" one woman with a 
long fringe and metal crosses round her neck said in the broadcast report.
Russian lawmakers last month gave broad approval to a broad "concept for the 
spiritual and moral education of children," including plans for curfews, 
bans on "emo and goth" fashions in schools and censorship of text messages.
The proposals are to be examined as draft laws over the next year.
Emo music, characterised by high emotional content and alternation between 
quiet and loud sounds, started in the United States in the 1980s as part of 
the punk movement and has gained mainstream popularity in recent years.
The music as well as the associated fashion -- tight jeans, long fringes and 
make-up for men -- has become popular across Russia, where there are also 
regular media reports that the movement encourages suicide.

http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-05/2008-05-06-voa50.cfm?CFID=22420331&CFTOKEN=87084082

Russian Police Block Opposition Protest
By VOA News
06 May 2008

Crowd at blocked Moscow protest, 06 May 2008
Russian police have blocked a planned opposition protest march in Moscow 
ahead of Wednesday's inauguration of Russia's new president, Dmitri 
Medvedev.
Hundreds of protesters who gathered Tuesday at a metro station in central 
Moscow were met by a phalanx of police and security agents. At one point, an 
opposition organizer used a police megaphone to urge protesters to disperse. 
Witnesses say at least one person was arrested as he unfurled a protest 
sign.

Russian riot police standing by near demonstration, 06 May 2008
Elsewhere in the city, police staked out an apartment and blocked 17 
opposition leaders from leaving to attend the rally.
The opposition activity is part of a series of so-called "Dissenter Marches" 
organized in the run-up to presidential elections in early March.
Mr. Medvedev is President Putin's handpicked successor, and the opposition 
claims his election victory was rigged.
Critics noted that the two candidates posing the most serious threat to the 
Medvedev candidacy, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and former chess 
champion Garry Kasparov, were disqualified from the polls on technicalities.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/25/europe/25russia.4.php

Red Square protest echoes 1968

By Sophia Kishkovsky
Published: August 25, 2008

MOSCOW: Seven human rights activists kneeled on Red Square on Sunday and 
unfurled a banner reading "For Your Freedom and Ours" and three were briefly 
detained by the police in a demonstration commemorating a similar action by 
Soviet dissidents 40 years ago who were protesting the Soviet invasion of 
Czechoslovakia.
Four journalists were also detained, according to news reports and 
information posted on a blog, moscow-river- 25.livejournal.com, that appears 
to be connected to the protestors. The demonstrators belong to an 
organization called the Human Rights Youth Movement and arranged their 
demonstration to copy as closely as possible the protest action of 1968.
Blogs and Web sites have become a central means of communication for Russian 
human rights activists, who are shut out of the mainstream media, but fears 
were expressed on the Web site that the Internet is being targeted as well.
"The participants of the demonstration think that freedom was born in the 
U.S.S.R. on August 25, 1968, and even 40 years later, in contemporary 
Russia, this slogan has not lost its timeliness," wrote one blogger. "It's 
become dangerous, once again, to have one's own opinion. There's not enough 
freedom, not even in blogs."
It was not clear whether the group was protesting the Russian military 
action in South Ossetia and Georgia. Novaya Gazeta, an opposition newspaper, 
in a story posted on its Web site Sunday, quotes one of the protesters as 
saying the war with Georgia was not the motivation for the protest. A 
reporter from the newspaper was among the detained journalists.
"The action is devoted to the battle for civil rights and is in no way 
connected with events in Georgia,"' said the protestor, according to Novaya 
Gazeta.
But Lyudmila Alekseyeva, chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group and a 
veteran of the Soviet human rights movement who was close to the protestors 
who shocked the Soviet authorities and the world with their demonstration 
Aug. 25, 1968, said she saw a connection between the sequence of events then 
and now. "Forty years ago it was hands off of Czechoslovakia," she said in 
an interview by telephone. "Now it is hands off of Georgia."
On Sunday, as in 1968, seven demonstrators unfurled a banner with the words 
"For Your Freedom and Ours" at noon on Red Square in front of Lobnoye Mesto, 
a centuries-old platform from which tsarist edicts and criminal convictions 
used to be read out.
The 1968 protesters were expressing their opposition the Soviet invasion of 
Czechoslovakia, which had put a violent end to the Prague Spring 
liberalization movement, and their gesture, which resulted in long prison 
terms for most of them, was considered one of the seminal moments of the 
Soviet dissident movement.
The Sunday demonstration, as in 1968, was arranged in secret. Alekseyeva 
said she did not know about it before the fact, but that the activists had 
contacted her afterwards to report on what they had done.
Those detained on Sunday face minor punishment of a small fine or possibly 
several days in jail, but Alekseyeva said the authorities reaction showed 
that the mentality has changed little from 1968. She said she would be 
publicly supporting the protestors.
"I plan to make it shameful for the authorities," she said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/26/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-Chernobyl-Protest.php

Belarusian graduates sent to work in Chernobyl zone against their will

The Associated Press
Published: April 26, 2008

MINSK, Belarus: Several thousand supporters of the beleaguered Belarusian 
opposition marched through the capital on Saturday to mark the anniversary 
of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and protest an alleged government cover-up 
of the disaster's consequences.
Many of the approximately 3,000 marchers expressed particular dismay over 
the government's policy of assigning recent university graduates to work in 
areas contaminated by the 1986 nuclear reactor explosion.
The Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine is just south of the border with 
Belarus. The explosion spewed a cloud of radiation over much of Europe, and 
Belarus, downwind from the plant, was severely affected.
In recent years, the government has removed about 1,000 cities and towns 
from the radiation danger list, despite what critics say is a substantial 
continuing health risk.
Statistics about illness in the contaminated parts of Belarus - about 23 
percent of its territory - are kept under wraps by the government of 
authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The government says that the areas it has removed from the danger list are 
safe to return to.
Protesters said the government was denying help to people affected by the 
disaster, including those who were sent in to clean up radioactive fallout.
"The government has abolished our benefits in order to bury us and the 
problems together. Lukashenko is simply burying those people who liquidated 
the disaster," said 56-year-old Valery Yagur, a protester who had been among 
the clean-up workers.
Lukashenko's government rarely allows opposition rallies, and participants 
took the opportunity of Saturday's sanctioned gathering to raise protests 
against his hardline rule, carrying signs reading "Freedom" and the 
now-banned red-and-white flag that was the first flag of post-Soviet 
Belarus.
The demonstration was peaceful and ended without incident.
Protester Konstantin Timokhov, 21, said he was deeply worried that the 
government will force him to work in a contaminated area when he graduates 
from university.
"The government is hiding the truth from us. My health and my future are in 
danger," he said.
Radiation levels have declined substantially in most areas near Chernobyl, 
but scientists disagree on the level of risk.
Some doctors who work in towns downwind from Chernobyl say the health 
effects are still being felt, and students being sent into these areas are 
afraid.
Kasya Markouskaya, 23, has been ordered to spend two years in 
Buda-Koshelyovo, a contamination-area town, when she graduates with a 
journalism degree this spring.
"My situation is little different from that of a slave who has been forced 
to do dangerous work," Markouskaya told The Associated Press recently. If 
she refuses, she will either be stripped of her diploma or required to 
reimburse the state for the full cost of her education. When she entered 
university, there were no such strings attached.
The work assignments began last year, and about one-fourth of this year's 
21,000 graduates are being sent to the contaminated areas.
Vice Prime Minister Alexander Kosinets said at parliamentary hearings Friday 
that if the work assignments were canceled, these regions would be left 
without the doctors, teachers, agricultural workers and other specialists 
they need.
Many people from these areas moved away; Lukashenko now wants to repopulate 
them so agriculture and industry can be revived.
Some of the young professionals sent to contaminated regions last year have 
already fled. About 800 graduates have refused to take up their work 
assignments this year, the Education Ministry said.
Saturday's rally also included statements of opposition to proposals to 
building a nuclear power plant.
Lukashenko later in the day called opponents of a plant "enemies of our 
people."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14121312.htm

Belarus police disperse detentions protest
14 Jul 2008 17:13:53 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Andrei Makhovsky
MINSK, July 14 (Reuters) - Police in Belarus dispersed a protest on Monday 
by dozens of opposition activists denouncing what they said was the 
detention of comrades after a bomb blast at a concert attended by President 
Alexander Lukashenko.
Riot police moved into the capital Minsk's main October Square and pushed 
out about 30 demonstrators carrying portraits of opposition figures they 
said were being held after the July 4 explosion, which wounded more than 50 
people.
Senior opposition figure Anatoly Lebedko was knocked to the ground and told 
reporters he had been kicked by an officer.
"The authorities have ignored our call not to launch a crusade against those 
who do not agree with them on the pretext of fighting terrorism," Lebedko 
said. "The crusade has started and every day there are more and more 
victims."
Lukashenko is accused in the West of violating basic freedoms and says he 
hopes a September election to parliament will prove that Belarus respects 
democratic principles.
The often divided liberal and nationalist opposition says about a dozen 
activists were rounded up after the explosion at an outdoor concert marking 
Belarus's national holiday.
Three were released after proving they were unconnected with the incident. 
Authorities have said nothing about detentions.
Authorities played down the seriousness of the blast by calling it 
"hooliganism", implying no political dimension and no one has claimed 
responsibility. Lukashenko has pledged to stage no crackdown on opponents.
Opposition groups say the detentions could compromise the September election 
and suggested last week they could pull out unless their members were freed.
A boycott would diminish any chance of Western recognition. The opposition 
currently has no seats in parliament.
Lukashenko, barred from entering the United States and European Union, has 
been trying to improve ties with the EU, which says any such development 
depends on democratic change.
Broadly popular among Belarus's 10 million people, the president has pledged 
to oversee a fair campaign, with broadcast time for all candidates and free 
access for Western observers. (Writing by Ron Popeski; editing by Elizabeth 
Piper)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/25/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-Media-Protest.php

Belarusian journalists protest new harsh media restrictions

The Associated Press
Published: June 25, 2008

MINSK, Belarus: Dozens of Belarusian news Web sites on Wednesday filled 
their pages with grim black banners to protest a new media law that will 
severely restrict the last source of independent information in this 
repressive ex-Soviet state.
The popular online news resources also kept their blogs silent for an hour 
in an act of defiance that they dubbed "an hour of black silence."
The bill, which won the final approval in the lower house of parliament 
Tuesday, cracks down on news Web sites, the last remaining sources of 
uncensored information in this country of 10 million. Many newspapers that 
have been closed down have found refuge in cyberspace and became the only 
place for Belarusians to gain access to independent news and analysts.
The measure also prohibits local media outlets from getting vital foreign 
funding and obliges them to register with the government.
"The threat of closing down numerous news sites and sources of independent 
information on the Internet is as real as ever," said Zhanna Litvina, head 
of Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Reporters Without Borders assailed the bill as "repressive."
"We fear that censorship will be stepped up," the Paris-based media freedom 
watchdog said in a statement Wednesday.
The bill was drafted by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled this 
nation with an iron fist since 1994, earning the reputation of "Europe's 
last dictator." The government argues the Internet must be brought to heel 
to protect Belarusians from foreign propaganda.
The measure is expected to quickly come into force after winning approval in 
the parliament's upper chamber and being signed into law by the president.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/364430/1/.html

Armenian opposition protesters call for president's removal
Posted: 02 August 2008 0346 hrs

Armenians cheer during a speech by opposition politician Levon Ter-Petrosian 
in Yerevan

YEREVAN : Several thousand opposition supporters rallied Friday in the 
Armenian capital Yerevan demanding President Serzh Sarkisian's removal and 
early elections.

Up to 5,000 protesters were seen in the centre of Yerevan by an AFP 
reporter.

"We are demanding the removal of the president and new parliamentary and 
presidential elections," former president and opposition leader Levon 
Ter-Petrosian told the crowd.

Ter-Petrosian called another protest for September 5.

Opposition supporters have regularly rallied in Yerevan since Sarkisian was 
elected in a February poll marred by post-election violence that left 10 
dead.

The opposition, which accuses Sarkisian of rigging the election, protested 
for 11 days after the vote before being violently dispersed by riot police.

A mountainous country of about three million people, Armenia has experienced 
repeated political violence since gaining its independence with the 1991 
collapse of the Soviet Union.

- AFP /ls

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/17/europe/EU-GEN-Azerbaijan-Opposition.php

Azerbaijani police briefly detain 13 opposition activists protesting in 
capital

The Associated Press
Published: June 17, 2008

BAKU, Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani police briefly detained 13 opposition 
activists who gathered Tuesday to protest an official ban on rallies in the 
capital.
The demonstrators tried to gather outside the Baku mayor's office, shouting 
"Freedom!" Police spokesman Kamal Velishov said they were taken into custody 
for holding an illegal rally.
The demonstration was held to pressure authorities to lift their ban on 
opposition rallies in the capital in the run-up to the presidential election 
in October, said Arif Hajili, of the opposition Musavat party.
"We have repeatedly asked the mayor's office to allow our rallies, but they 
kept refusing," Hajili said. "We will continue our fight."
He said the party activists were released shortly after.
Authorities have offered the opposition to hold their rallies on the 
outskirts of the capital, but opposition leaders have refused.
President Ilham Aliev, who took over from his father in a 2003 election 
denounced by opponents as a sham, has faced persistent criticism for his 
government's heavy-handed treatment of independent media and opposition 
groups.

http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=593402

Tens of thousands of people protest against Georgia poll result
Posted: 2008/05/27
From: Source

 It is the biggest protest demonstration since Mikheil Saakashvili's January 
inauguration.
(Aljazeera)

Tens of thousands of people have protested against Mikheil Saakashvili, 
Georgia's president, in the country's capital, saying his ruling party stole 
victory in last week's parliamentary election.

The protesters, who gathered in front of Tbilisi's parliament building, 
remained at the scene for four hours on Monday.

Official results show Saakashvili's United National Movement won about 120 
out of the parliament's 150 seats, giving him a constitutional majority.

European monitors said the election did not live up to Georgia's democratic 
potential and that it had verified cases of intimidation.

However, it said that overall the vote had expressed the will of the people.

The president's democratic credentials have been under intense scrutiny 
after he used riot police to crush protests against the government last 
November.

The demonstrators also allege that he rigged his presidential victory in 
January.

Deputies barred

Opposition deputies tried to enter the parliament building on Monday but 
were barred by special service soldiers.

Koba Davitashvili, a former Saakashvili ally who is now an opposition 
leader, called for the president to recognise the vote had been rigged.

"If Saakashvili does not recognise the election as falsified then the people 
will move towards the place where he currently sits and demand an answer 
from him," Davitashvili told the crowd.

The opposition said over 100,000 had gathered for the protest, but 
international journalists at the rally put the figure at 40,000.

The lower figure would still make it the biggest protest demonstration since 
Saakashvili's January inauguration.

'Vote thief'

Most of the protesters gathered for the rally after attending Georgia's 
annual Independence Day military parade, at which Saakashvili was present.

Addressing the crowd, Salome Zurabishvili, an opposition leader who once 
served as Saakashvili's foreign minister, said: "We want these elections to 
be cancelled and we want this parliament to be abolished."

Some protesters carried an effigy of Saakashvili with a banner saying "Vote 
Thief" while others chanted "Misha go! Misha go!" Misha is a short form for 
the name Mikheil.

Opposition leaders, who have vowed to boycott the new parliament, said they 
would prevent parliament from convening next month by forming a human cordon 
around it.

"We won't allow a new parliament to gather and to start working," David 
Gamkrelidze, a leader of the opposition bloc which took second place in the 
elections, told the rally.

Russian tensions

Saakashvili has been hoping to portray the elections as fair as part of his 
plan to convince the West to defy Russian objections and offer Georgia Nato 
membership.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, sent congratulations to Saakashvili for 
the Independence Day celebrations and said Moscow wanted good relations with 
Tbilisi.

Georgia has accused Russia of supporting its breakaway regions of South 
Ossetia and Abkhazia.

On Monday, the United Nations released a report saying that a Russian 
fighter plane had shot down a Georgian drone last month over Abkhazia.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/26/news/Georgia-Opposition.php

50,000 turn out in Georgia to protest election results

The Associated Press
Published: May 26, 2008

TBILISI, Georgia: About 50,000 opposition demonstrators marched through 
Georgia's capital on Monday to protest parliamentary election results they 
said were rigged in favor of the ruling party.
It was one of the biggest showings of discontent in the strategic ex-Soviet 
republic since a police crackdown on an opposition rally in November that 
undermined President Mikhail Saakashvili's image as a democratic reformer.
Saakashvili's United National Movement won about 120 out of the 150 
parliament seats in Wednesday's election, strengthening the U.S.-allied 
leader's grip on power.
The United Opposition alliance, which won 16 seats, accused the authorities 
of widespread violations and refused to enter parliament. Supporters of two 
other opposition parties, which also won several seats, joined the protest.
The protesters carried an effigy of Saakashvili with a sign saying "Vote 
Thief" and slogans saying "Georgia without Saakashvili!" and "For free 
elections!"
The protesters reached the city's main avenue shortly after a military 
parade marking the country's Independence Day had ended. Scores of riot 
police officers allowed the protesters to pass unimpeded to the parliament 
building.
"We don't recognize this parliament and refuse to join it," opposition 
leader David Gamkrelidze told the crowd.
"We are demanding to hold a new parliamentary vote."
Last week, the European Union said the main international observer mission 
called the implementation of Georgia's democratic commitments "uneven and 
incomplete," and urged authorities to ensure all complaints were "urgently 
addressed."
But the EU also urged "all political forces to respect the election 
results."
The opposition parties share Saakashvili's pro-Western views and his 
wariness of Russia, but they have criticized the U.S.-educated lawyer for 
what they called authoritarian ways and his failure to lift the nation out 
of poverty.
The growing feuding between Saakashvili and his opponents spilled into the 
streets repeatedly over the past year, heightening tension in the nation, 
which sits on a key oil pipeline pumping Caspian crude to the West and is at 
the center of a struggle for influence between Russia and the West.
Washington's and the EU's support for Saakashvili have prompted some of the 
opposition members to voice distrust in the West.
"We don't need either the United States or Europe to act as advisers," said 
Levan Gachechiladze, the main leader of the United Opposition.
Opposition leaders were planning another protest for June 10, the day the 
new parliament is set to start work. "We won't leave the authorities in 
peace. We will free our country," Gachechiladze said.
Saakashvili, who won a second term in January, has assiduously courted the 
U.S. and sent troops to Iraq. His efforts to take Georgia out of Russia's 
orbit and join NATO has put him on a collision course with Moscow which has 
developed close ties with Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and 
South Ossetia.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=94176

Bulgaria Interior Minister Spends Night in Police Precinct Over CSKA 
Protests
15 June 2008, Sunday

Bulgaria Interior Minister Spends Night in Police Precinct Over CSKA 
Protests: Bulgarian Interior Minister Mihail Mikov spent four hours Saturday 
night at the First Police Precinct in Sofia because he had decided to 
personally deal with the 56 CSKA football club fans who have been arrested 
for disorderly conduct in public and for organizing a protest without having 
a permit earlier in the evening Saturday.

Mikov arrived at the Precinct around 10:30 pm and stayed until 2:30 am 
Sunday. After his interference only two fans remained jailed because they 
have been filmed when disobeying the law.

At his departure Mikov had a friendly talk with the fans who have been 
allowed to leave the Precinct. The Minister declined any comments regarding 
his late-night appearance with the motive that he did not want to use the 
situation for self-promotion, adding only that he has been personally asked 
for assistance by the Chair of the CSKA Fan Club - Dimitar Anglov AKA "The 
Duche".

At the conclusion of a meeting and concert at the national "Vasil Levski" 
stadium" earlier Saturday evening, angry CSKA fans demonstrated in front t 
of the Bulgarian Football Union building, blocking traffic in the area while 
some threw bottles and seemingly appeared under the influence of alcohol.

After refusing to disperse when asked by the police, 56 fans were detained 
while 6 have been accused of hooliganism with reports submitted to Sofia's 
District Court.

The Court Sunday fined four of the six accused fans and acquitted the other 
two for lack of evidence.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=94082

CSKA Fans Protest in New York
12 June 2008, Thursday

CSKA Fans Protest in New York: Fans of Bulgarian football champion CSKA have 
staged protests in the city of New York demanding justice for the red club.

Protesters placed a huge banner in front of the Bulgarian consulate in the 
Big Apple calling for "Prison for the Bulgaria football mafia."

The fans say that their protests will continue until those who are 
responsible for the situation of the club are put in jail.

CSKA have failed to get a license from the Bulgarian Football Union over 
unpaid debts, thus being banished from participation in UEFA's Champions 
League.

Former CSKA president Alexander Tomov had repeatedly stated all debts of the 
club were settled, but after the truth about the financial mismanagement of 
the club was revealed, Tomov narrowly escaped lynching by angry fans before 
resigning.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/221890,bulgaria-opposition-launches-protest-demands-early-poll--summary.html

Bulgaria opposition launches protest, demands early poll - Summary
Posted : Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:42:01 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : World
Sofia - Bulgarian nationalists overnight launched an open- ended protest, 
demanding early elections this autumn after the European Union cut off 
almost 500 million euros (785 million dollars) in aid to the country over 
its failure to halt corruption. Leaders and supporters of the 
ultra-nationalist opposition Ataka party, which organized the protest, have 
staged a sit-in, setting up up tents between the presidential, council of 
ministries and parliament buildings in Sofia.
"The EU report is a signal that the country is in a crisis," said one 
activist of the Ataka party, which has 21 mandates in the 240- seat 
parliament.
Also supporters of the Green Party, which is not represented in the 
parliament, demonstrated for the resignation of the socialist-led government 
of Sergey Stanishev.
The parliament in Sofia is scheduled to debate a motion of no confidence by 
the opposition on Tuesday, the sixth such motion since Stanishev's 
government took office in August 2005.
The motion by right-wing parties is a reaction to the unprecedented EU 
report of last Wednesday, in which the bloc explained its decision to cut 
off funds meant for institution building, rural development and major 
infrastructure projects.
The highly critical report had said authorities in Bulgaria, the EU's 
poorest nation, had done little to properly fight corruption and organized 
crime, and cited evidence that senior Bulgarian officials were diverting EU 
aid.
An earlier draft of the report had even included allegations of ties between 
Stanishev's government and organized crime figures, but these were omitted 
from the final report.
The aid cutoff was the first ever imposed on an EU member country. Romania 
was also criticized for shortcomings in anti-graft efforts. Both eastern 
European countries joined the EU in January 2007.
Stanishev himself had called the report an "encouragement to pursue reform" 
and said Bulgaria was "learning to handle EU funds."
Bulgaria meanwhile said it would use the surplus in its own budget to 
compensate for the cancelled EU funds.
Stanishev's Socialist-led coalition, which also includes the liberal NMS and 
the ethnic-Turkish dominated MRF, decided at a weekend meeting in the 
south-western ski resort of Bansko to use some of the 3.8 billion lev (1.9 
billion euros) surplus, local media reported.
Stanishev said after the meeting that a new working group was tasked with 
controlling all Bulgarian authorities responsible for payments from 
Brussels.

http://www.b92.net//eng/news/society-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=05&dd=03&nav_id=49928

B92 News Society Society

Journalist association calls for symbolic protest
3 May 2008 | 12:38 | Source: B92, Beta
BELGRADE -- The Independent Association of Journalist of Serbia, NUNS, 
called on members to engage in "five minutes of deafening silence".

The initiative, also joined by the Branch Union of the Media Independence, 
was meant to mark the World Press Freedom Day in this way today at five 
minutes to midday.

The five minutes of silence should have drawn attention to the difficult 
position faced by both journalists and journalism in Serbia, NUNS said.

NUNS has called on all reporters to take part in the campaign, blackout 
screens in electronic media, leave news conferences if they happen to be 
attending, and read out the organization's announcement issued today.

B92 and Enter were the only Belgrade-based television stations that accepted 
the call to interrupt their programs for five minutes.

The Association of Serbia's Journalists, UNS, also supported the initiative.

http://www.b92.net//eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=05&nav_id=50850

Protests continue at Belgrade City Hall 5 June 2008 | 16:26 | Source: Tanjug 
BELGRADE -- SRS, DSS-NS and SPS supporters have continued their protests in 
front of Belgrade City Hall with an action called "Resit".

The demonstrators are protesting against the decision to schedule the first 
constitutive session of the Belgrade assembly for July 14.

Today's performance was attended by the coalition's candidate for mayor, the 
Serb Radical Party's (SRS) Aleksandar Vucic, Aleksandar Antic of the 
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and Dubravka Filipovski of the Democratic 
Party-New Serbia (DSS-NS).

Filipovski said that "regular protests will continue."

http://www.b92.net//eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=07&nav_id=50893

City Hall protests continue 7 June 2008 | 09:56 | Source: Beta BELGRADE --  
SRS, SPS and DSS-NS supporters have continued their protest in front of 
Belgrade City Hall at Mayor Zoran Alimpic's decision to call the 
constitutive session for July 14.

Antic, Vucic (FoNet)

In a performance last night entitled "Light for Belgrade", participants 
carried candles and torches in order to, as they put it, shed light on those 
who were destroying democracy and law and order.

The participants were addressed by representatives earmarked for the top 
jobs in local government-the Radicals' Aleksandar Vucic , the Socialists' 
Aleksandar Antic and Dubravka Filipovski of New Serbia-who said that they 
were united and determined to persist in their battle for democratic rights 
and the respect of the citizens' will.

"We've gathered here tonight to shed light on those who call on democracy, 
but who are breaking the law," they said, adding that every night, in ever 
greater numbers, they would show those who "call on democracy, but blatantly 
and willfully attempt to stay in power at any cost," that they were mistaken 
and that they did not have the right to act like this.

"Those who call on European values and Serbia's future should know that the 
international community condemns this kind of willfulness," said Filipovski, 
while Vucic said that the new city government would tackle all forms of 
crime and corruption.

The crowd chanted "Thieves, thieves" and "Out, out". The protest passed off 
without incident.

http://www.b92.net//eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=01&nav_id=50719

Radicals announce protests in Belgrade 1 June 2008 | 17:07 | Source: Beta 
BELGRADE -- The Radicals (SRS) Secretary General Aleksandar Vucic has 
announced protests in Belgrade over the date set for the first sitting of 
the new city assembly.

Vucic seen during the news conference today (Tanjug)

Vucic, seen as the likely new mayor after a coalition deal for the capital 
stuck by the SRS, the DSS and the Socialists (SPS) earlier this week, said 
his party's new partners will also take part.

The coalition is unhappy with acting Mayor Zoran Alimpic's decision to 
schedule the assembly session for July 14.

Vucic told journalists in a news conference in Belgrade today that the 
protests will be held "starting Wednesday".

He added the Radicals' coalition partners were close to agreement on how to 
proceed with the demonstrations, as well as about "the way in which we will 
implement these democratic changes that the Belgraders wish to see 
implemented".

The coalition will, according to the SRS official, take all legal measures 
to make sure the will of the voters is respected.

Vucic also said the explanation head for the July 14 date was "immoral and 
incredible", since Alimpic said he was not convinced that the SRS-DSS-SPS 
coalition does have a majority in the city assembly.

The SRS secretary general said this delay would "cost Belgrade dearly".

As for the speculation that the coalition in the capital might fall apart, 
Vucic said that his primary concern is to "enter this deal as an honest man 
and to leave that way".

Meanwhile, the man the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) put forward as their 
candidate for mayor before the elections, Aleksandar Popovic, said that the 
DS preventing the meeting of the Belgrade assembly was a textbook example of 
this party's tyranny.

"Anyone with a cool head can understand that the decision to schedule the 
constitutive session for July 14 is more than detrimental for democracy. No 
one is Europe, that we strive toward, behaves in this way, no one is even 
thinking about usurping the power and threatening democracy," Popovic told 
Vecernje Novosti daily.

He added that the Democrats' attempt to "impose tyranny" at any cost, 
justified by references to Europe and European values, is "meaningless and 
degrading".

"Respect for democratic principles is more important than who will exercise 
authority in Belgrade, because any government is replaceable," Popovic said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/13/europe/EU-GEN-Macedonia-Elections-Violence.php

Macedonia: Thousands protest attack against ethnic Albanian leader; EU, US 
concerned

The Associated Press
Published: May 13, 2008

TETOVO, Macedonia: About 10,000 people demonstrated Tuesday against what 
they said was an attempt to assassinate the leader of a major ethnic 
Albanian opposition party in the northwest Macedonian city of Tetovo.
Ali Ahmeti, a former rebel commander, was unhurt when gunmen sprayed his car 
with automatic gunfire late Monday in Tetovo as he was campaigning for June 
1 general elections. The gunfire left a bystander injured.
The EU and the U.S. expressed concern over the violence.
At least eight regional offices of Ahmeti's Democratic Union for Integration 
party have been attacked since Sunday - seven with gunfire and one with a 
hand grenade. No injuries were reported from those incidents.
Ahmeti's party blamed a rival ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of 
Albanians, which in turn denied any involvement.
Late Tuesday, authorities said two suspects had been arrested in connection 
with the attack against Ahmeti, and charged with "endangering security," 
while a third remained at large.
Ethnic Albanians account for about a quarter of Macedonia's 2.1 million 
population.
In 2001, ethnic Albanian rebels staged an armed rebellion against the 
government. But fierce rivalry has since grown between the two main Albanian 
parties, and intensified in the run-up to the June 1 elections.
About 10,000 DUI supporters marched Tuesday through the center of Tetovo, an 
ethnic Albanian majority city. The protest ended peacefully.
DUI officials claimed Monday's attack had been orchestrated by Democratic 
Party of Albanians' leader Menduh Thaci and Macedonian special police to 
intimidate the electorate not to vote.
The DPA denied any involvement and condemned the attacks.
Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, has warned the pre-election 
violence could ruin the country's hopes of joining NATO and the EU, and 
urged ethnic Albanian leaders to calm tensions.
A statement issued by the Slovenian Embassy in Skopje on behalf of the EU 
called for calm. Slovenia currently holds the EU rotating presidency.
"Violence has no place in an election campaign," it said. Krisztina Nagy, EU 
spokeswoman on enlargement, said Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn was 
worried by the "worsening of the security situation."
Also Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy expressed "deep concern" over the current 
election atmosphere in Macedonia.

http://www.b92.net//eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=06&nav_id=50861

Albanian party holds Skoplje protest 6 June 2008 | 09:51 | Source: Beta 
SKOPLJE -- At least 3,000 supporters of the Albanian Democratic Union for 
Integration (DUI) gathered last night in Skopje to protest the violence 
during Sunday's elections.

The the ethnic Albanian party stated that the peaceful demonstration had 
been organized as a sign of protest over electoral "irregularities and 
manipulations" that had occurred.

One person was killed and eight wounded in clashes with police on Sunday, 
while 50 people have been arrested in the last three days.

The Macedonian Electoral Committee stated that voting would be repeated in 
at least 25 polling stations on June 15.

The Committee has received over 56 complaints from political parties 
concerning electoral improprieties.

http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/148336/1/3184

Protest-Concert in Skënderbej Square
Mjaft

18 April 2007
Last Friday, April 13, approximately 50,000 Albanians responded to the Prime 
Minister's attacks on the media through a peaceful manifestation in 
"Skenderbej Square", thereby marking the largest manifestation ever 
witnessed in Albania since the rise of the pluralist system. This 
manifestation was not coordinated by political parties; rather, it was 
jointly organized by civil society and the media.

By simultaneously raising their hands and emphatically screaming Mjaft! to 
each governmental attempt to bring the independent media down to its knees, 
the protestors primarily demonstrated, in the capital's main square, their 
respect for the media and for the freedom of speech that was reestablished 
17 years ago.

Erion Veliaj, Mjaft!'s Executive Director, spoke both to the people present 
in the square and to the millions of viewers that watched this manifestation 
live on TV.

"Imagine an Albania without free speech; imagine a country where thousands 
of people lose their jobs and have no media to turn to in order to report 
and denounce such an encroachment on freedom; imagine a country where 
businesses go bankrupt and foreign enterprises pull out; imagine, if there 
was no media, all these problems would go unnoticed", he said for the TV 
cameras.

http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/150876/1/3189

Token Protests in Sarajevo
Dejan Georgievski


29 April 2008
A group of citizens of Sarajevo organized small, token-protest in front of 
the Building of the Cantonal Government in Sarajevo during the session of 
the Cantonal Parliament of April 24, aiming to demonstrate to the Parliament 
and the Government that every move they make is carefully watched.

Citizens of Sarajeva believe that the time when misleading the public was 
possible and accepted practice are long gone, and that the adoption of the 
action plan for prevention of youth delinquency has been accompanied, from 
the very beginning, by wrong and negative intents and outright lies.

- For those reasons, we fear that this action plan to, regardless of its 
obvious shortcomings, will remain just words of paper, say Citizens of 
Sarajevo.

They sent a message to those in power that ignoring problems is not the 
right approach to finding solutions and that they intend to remain strong in 
their attempts to undermine their reputation and political support and 
disclose every wrong move they make.

http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/150924/1/3189

Maj 9 - New Protests!
Alisa Karovic

09 May 2008
Citizens of Sarajevo Informal Group organizes today, May 9, new round of 
protests in front of the Building to the Cantonal Government, to demand, 
once again, resignations and removal from office of Cantonal Prime Minister 
Samir Silajdzic and Mayor of Sarajevo Semiha Borovac.

In the call to the citizens to join the protests and the fight for truth, 
justice and human dignity, the Groups says that they wouldn`t give up on 
their demands first presented three months ago.

`You can hardly pass the university entry exam in three tries in this 
society, not to mention the removal of incompetent and irresponsible persons 
that decide our fate and lead us on the road to ruin`, say the Citizens of 
Sarajevo.

The protests are held, with intended symbolism, on the Day of Victory over 
Fascism and the Europea Day, since, as they say `it is evident that with 
such politicians, we will never be able to join EU. They could take us only 
into a union of third-world countries`, said the Group in a press conference 
held yesterday.

`The citizens have to understand that the holders of power intend to stick 
to their lies. Therefore, we have to stick to the truth, which is rather 
simple, they do nothing to improve the life in the country`, add the 
cirizens of Sarajevo.

The `Concert of the Potters of Sarajevo` street performance was held 
yesterday, in front of about thirty citizens and the far more numerous 
security around the National Theatre.

http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/151013/1/3189

Send to a Friend    Help
Police Brutality Against Protesters at BIH Football Association Planned
Sanjin Buzo

26 May 2008

(Photo: Sarajevo-x.com)
The Dosta Movement accused the Ministry of Interior of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina of intentional brutality against the participants in the 
protests organized last Friday, May 23, in front of the building of the BiH 
Football Association in Sarajevo.

On initiative of the Youth Movement for Better BiH, protests were organized 
(initially to take place on Saturday, May 24, but moved to Friday because of 
the game day of the Bosnian Premier League) because of the situation of 
Bosnian and Herzegovinian football and the latest developments in the FABIH.

The initiative was joined by numerous fans` associations and football fan 
groups from Sarajevo, Mostar, Zenica and Tuzla. The Dosta! Movement also 
called the citizens to join the football supporters in the protest. The 
initiative was also supported by the Citizens of Sarajevo and a number of 
public personalities.

About 2000 people turned up in front of FABIH building, mostly organized 
football fans, with small number of citizens and activists. After about 20 
minutes of peaceful protests, accompanied by the racket created by fans` 
pyrotechnics, admittedly, thrown at the building, the Police, although under 
no threat of attack or any immediate danger, attacked the protesters without 
warning and beating everyone indiscriminately.

(Photo: Sarajevo-x.com)
Innocent passers-by, elderly, women and children fell victims to rampaging 
riot squad. Some 30 people were arrested and detained. After it broke the 
protests and emptied the street, the Police blocked all access to the FABIH 
building.

-We have to point out that there was no warning by the Police for protesters 
to move and dissipate. Quite clearly, the Police lost its professional 
standards today and put itself in service of the criminals in the Football 
Association and their associates, the corrupt politicians, states the public 
statement released by Dosta Movement.

We learn unofficially that the Police received orders to use force and to 
`not allow the ring-leaders to escape`, in an attempt to demonize the 
citizens and football fans that took part in the protest. Our sources also 
say that the riot-policemen at the place came with their stereotyped view of 
fans as hooligans, adding that no material damage was caused on the 
surrounding buildings or the FA building.

-We believe that the Police bears all responsibility for the riots today. We 
want to praise the behaviour of football fan groups, who managed, for the 
first time, to create a union against those who should have felt the power 
of `our` police authorities long time ago, adds Dosta.

(Photo: Sarajevo-x.com)
Dosta adds that Friday`s events prove that the Government will not tolerate 
any protest any more, will attack without warning, in spite of the 
obligation for the Police to issue warnings before going into action, and 
that the Police openly sided with the criminals and corrupt politicians.

The initiative of protests and boycott against the current situation in FA 
BiH continues on June 1, at the Kosevo Olympic Stadium, with a game of big 
former and current stars of Bosnian and Nerzegovinian football, at the same 
time when the national team plays a friendly with Azerbaijan.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080523-0943-bosnia-protest.html

Bosnian protesters damage shops, soccer headquarters over sacking of 
national coach
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:43 a.m. May 23, 2008
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Bosnian protesters trashed shops and smashed 
windows at the headquarters of the country's soccer association Friday to 
protest the sacking of the national team coach.
Police said they arrested up to 35 people after enraged fans threw bricks, 
stones, flares and chairs during the protests. Two officers were slightly 
hurt.
Hundreds had gathered outside the association's offices in Sarajevo to 
protest Meho Kodro's dismissal and to call for the association's management 
to step down.
The association said it fired Kodro last week because he refused to let the 
national team play a friendly match against Iran.
Kodro said he refused to name a squad for the friendly match scheduled for 
May 26 in Tehran because he believed there were better ways to improve the 
team, which failed to qualify for this summer's Euro 2008 tournament.
Kodro told reporters that the real reason for his sacking was a 
long-festering dispute between himself and senior figures in the association 
he accused of trying to influence team selection.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/29/europe/EU-GEN-Latvia-Anti-Corruption-Chief.php

Latvian lawmakers sack popular anti-corruption chief despite protest rally

The Associated Press
Published: June 29, 2008

RIGA, Latvia: Latvian lawmakers sacked a popular anti-corruption chief on 
Sunday, ignoring the heckling from hundreds of protesters who were outside 
Parliament to support the investigator.
The legislators voted 52-40, with seven abstentions, to remove Aleskejs 
Loskutovs from his job.
Loskutovs - who has earned a reputation as a crusader against corruption - 
came under fire after an internal audit in April revealed that two employees 
in his anti-corruption bureau had stolen more than a quarter-million dollars 
in cash from bureau funds.
Loskutovs, an ethnic Russian, gained enormous popularity over the four years 
he headed the bureau for spearheading numerous anti-corruption 
investigations, with targets ranging from powerful ministers to 
rank-and-file traffic police.
However, he angered coalition parties after hitting them with large fines 
for alleged campaign violations involving illicit fundraising. If enforced, 
the fines would be a major financial blow to the ruling parties.
A previous effort to remove Loskutovs from office led to the collapse of 
Latvia's last government in December. Several thousand Latvians had 
protested then to keep Loskutovs in the job.
On Sunday, some 400 demonstrators showed up, waving signs and jeering 
coalition lawmakers who had expressed support for removing Loskutovs.
Some had a rare opportunity to meet the singer Seal, who was in Riga to hold 
a concert and on Sunday morning took pictures of the demonstration, though 
he did not participate, and fielded questions from local journalists.